Even with the recent announcement of the allocation of $31 million in bonds to help replace the South Park Bridge from King County and a soon-to-be-announced pledge of $20 million from the City, South Park business owners, residents and community members are worried about the impact the June 30th bridge closure will have on the neighborhood. The bridge is the most direct route people in South Park have to cross the Duwamish River into the rest of Seattle. It is also how the rest of Seattle easily accesses South Park’s growing business district on 14th Avenue South. It is critical to support the businesses that will be impacted by the inevitable diversion of traffic that will be caused by the closed bridge. Here are a few ways you can help:
- Encourage people to endorse the bridge replacement via their local affiliations. Get your local Chamber of Commerce involved.
- Write blog posts, Letters to the Editor, and respond to blog posts to voice your concern for the safety and vitality of the community and the implications closure will have on the neighborhood
- Offer to help South Park restaurant owners distribute flyers (or create them if they don’t exist) in other communities.
- Write positive reviews of the restaurants and businesses you frequent in South Park on CitySearch.com, Yelp.com, and others.
- Make the effort to continue to frequent South Park restaurants on lunch breaks and after work.
- Don’t let the bridge closure become another piece of forgotten news. Continue the conversation.